


Sic Transit Gloria

by Bonymaloney



Series: Fighting It At Every Turn [4]
Category: The Outer Worlds (Video Game)
Genre: A Very Nice Hat, Clothed Sex, F/M, Quickies, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Shameless Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 07:26:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29713698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bonymaloney/pseuds/Bonymaloney
Summary: Shameless pwp in which Max overthinks life, sex and the Plan. Set on Monarch, early on in Pearl and Max’s relationship.
Relationships: The Captain/Maximillian DeSoto
Series: Fighting It At Every Turn [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1629799
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	Sic Transit Gloria

Max’s footsteps echoed as he approached the altar. He could smell stale incense, overlain with woodsmoke and sickly sweet liquor left behind by the Mission’s more recent inhabitants. Light from the grand dome of the observatory picked up motes of drifting dust. 

He had killed outside, marauders and raptidons both, and it was right that he give thanks to the Architect. The strong survive and the weak perish; and Max had been made strong. But now that he was inside he was regretting his decision. The sight of the beautiful building desecrated and left to ruin made his skin crawl, as he envisaged the chaos of Monarch spreading across the entire colony and beyond. Such was the fate of humanity if men like Max were not permitted to pursue the truth by any means necessary, to fight disorder with every fibre of their being. There would be nothing left but skeletons, huddled around their burned-out campfires. 

A sound behind him, and he turned sharply. Pearl stood watching him, her sabre clasped loosely by her side. Dark strands of hair trailed down her neck. 

She must have seen something in his face, because she frowned as she moved closer. 

“Are you ok? Does it bother you, seeing a place like this?”

“Not at all,” he replied smoothly. “If the Board in their wisdom have declared Monarch beyond saving, then why should the Church expend our resources on fallow ground? Reason supersedes any emotional attachment one might feel to such a place. But what about you, Captain? You were a woman of faith, once upon a time.”

“It’s just another building to me.”

He could tell that she was lying, but he was lying too, and they had better things to be doing than talking, anyway. 

Sex in armour was something of a logistical challenge. Possibly the only advantageous feature of the Spacers Choice crap he was wearing was how disturbingly easy it was to detach the plates. When his lower half was bare, he kissed her. 

Pearl tasted of mockapple tea, and as his lips clashed against hers, of copper. Her fingers twined in his hair and she kissed him back with equal passion. It was like flood, like fire, overwhelming after his years of loneliness in Edgewater. He lifted her, wrapped her legs around his waist as he settled her on the altar. She was hot and wet as he slid into her, hiding his face in her neck as he gasped and cursed at the sudden, astonishing pleasure. It was an act of worship between two survivors, strong and glorious. Giving praise before they continued onward, ever onward toward their purpose. 

Fuck, she was gorgeous, the taste of her and the scent of her hair, the power in her thighs. He would come to his destiny clean and pure and fortified, he would beat Chaney to a bloody pulp, and then all obstacles in his roadway would be clear. He would find Enlightenment and he would prevail, and oh Law, oh fuck, oh _help_ …

He bit down on her shoulder and groaned as he spent himself inside her.

They dressed in silence. Afterwards, instead of making for the door, Pearl went to the nave. She was sharp eyed and light fingered, and she’d found something he’d missed. A silk top hat, far too fine for the marauding scum that haunted Monarch. She placed it on his head, and Max found himself grinning with a combination of disgust at the thought of who had worn it before him, and delight in the sheer bizarreness of it. 

She took him by the hand and lead him back out into the bright abandoned street. His eyes widened at the unfamiliar sensation of her fingers, threaded between his like they belonged there. It was comforting. 

Max felt a spark of irritation, and released her grip. He shouldn’t need comforting.


End file.
